Quick identification of the kerogen-rich sweet zone in wells, mapping the sweet zone areas, and placement of the horizontal holes within the sweet zone is one of the most important tasks in shale gas exploration and development. As shale gas plays have become more important to the oil and gas industry, methods of identifying kerogen-rich zones have gained in importance. In many cases, the existing methods are applicable only to the specific formation in which they have been applied, and do not have general relevance to new areas of exploration and development.